Angel
by HoneydukesFan
Summary: In the Marauder's sixth year, a new girl named Angel comes to Hogwarts. Sirius falls for her, but can't break through her tough outer shell. Can Sirius win the heart of the Angel of Death? SB/OC, JP/LE, RL/OC
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: In this story (a story about the marauders) Peter Pettigrew has been cut out. (.) Sorry. No back-stabbing traitors in this story._

Three boys stood in front of a scarlet steam engine. One had jet-black hair that fell messily all over the place, with almond-shaped brown eyes. Another also had black hair, but his fell gracefully around his light gray eyes and handsome features. The other one had honey-colored hair that was relatively neat and framed his amiable face and kind smile. All were around the same height—roughly six feet. They were also all very good-looking.

The famous Marauders boarded the train, lugging their bulky red trunks behind them. They stopped in the corridor and looked around.

"Think of it, mates," said the one with the light gray eyes. "We only have two more years in this school."

"Why so serious, Sirius?" joked the one with the untamable hair.

"Prongs, that joke was old in first year," said the one with the honey-colored hair, rolling his eyes slightly.

"I know, but that's why you love me, right?" he countered.

"Sure," replied Remus. "Come on. Let's find a compartment."

James and Sirius followed Remus as he led the way to the back of the train. Sirius was staring into all of the compartment windows absent-mindedly, when he saw her. She was staring out of the window and had white plugs sticking out of her ears (_Strange, _thought Sirius).

She had short-ish blonde hair that was layered and streaked with black. Her dark green eyes were framed with a thick layer of eye liner, and she had a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She was wearing black skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees and a leather jacket over her gray _Beatles_ t-shirt. She was fairly petit, only reaching five feet five inches.

"Whoa," said Sirius, nudging James in the ribs. "I call dibs."

James gave a non-committal grunt and peered through the window in the door. "She looks like she's in our year. She must have changed schools or something."

Sirius was about to reply when Remus stuck his head out of a compartment a few doors down. "Oi! Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," said James, and they followed Remus inside.

A round of exploding snap and a large purchase from the lunch trolley later, Remus excused himself so he could go down to the Prefect's meeting. He left to jibes at a respectable Marauder becoming a Prefect ("The shame!" said Sirius).

A couple minutes later, Sirius said he was going for a walk. James saw through this at once, knowing he was going to introduce himself to the mysterious stranger in the compartment near theirs.

As it turned out, James was right.

Sirius slid smoothly into the girl's compartment, settling himself across from her. She looked up at him and then went back to staring out o the window, completely ignoring him.

Sirius broke the silence by saying, "Did it hurt?"

The girl replied in a slightly cold voice. "Did _what _hurt?"

"When you fell from Heaven. Did it hurt?"

The girl gave him a scrutinizing stare. "You've got one thing right and one thing wrong there. Yes, it did hurt. Like crap. But I didn't come from Heaven. I came from Hell."

"Ah," said Sirius, not really knowing what else to say. _I get the feeling she's not a people-person,_ thought Sirius, as she ignored him again, cleaning her nails in a bored fashion. There was something about her, though, that fascinated him. He decided to try again.

"So what's your name?" he asked.

_Man,_ the girl thought. _He really doesn't get it, does he? He is not welcome here. _Then: _I might as well just tell him my name. He might go away._

"Angel," she said.

"Angel?" laughed Sirius. "That's a little ironic. An angel from Hell."

"Yes," Angel mused. "I exist to prove people wrong."

When Angel didn't ask what Sirius's name was, Sirius introduced himself.

"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black."

_Funny,_ thought Angel, _he seems anything but serious._

There was a long silence. Then Angel said, "Are you leaving?"

"Do you want me to leave?" Sirius asked, slightly annoyed.

"Maybe," Angel replied coolly.

"Why?" Sirius said, his voice rising a little. This girl was really starting to grate on his nerves. Why couldn't she at least be civil?

"'Cause I would prefer to be alone," said Angel blandly.

"I see," said Sirius, his voice heated.

"So leave," Angel half-commanded, pointing a finger towards the door.

This girl was _really _annoying him. "Make me," Sirius said.

* * *

James returned to the Marauder's compartment and sank into the seat opposite Remus's.

Remus looked up from his book. "What happened?" he queried.

"Lily," James said with a sigh. Remus nodded knowledgably.

"So how did the Prefect's meeting go?" James asked, changing the topic.

"Same as usual," Remus said. "Boring talks, then timetables were passed out of our rounds." He paused for a minute. "Although, there was a mention a having a Christmas Ball this year," he said, frowning thoughtfully. Then he asked, "Where's Padfoot?"

"He went to go talk to some girl," said James.

As if on cue, Sirius sauntered into the room, collapsing onto the seat next to Remus.

"So how did it—" James started to ask, but broke off at the sight of Sirius's swelling purple eye.

"What happened?" Remus asked.

Sirius huffed and then said, "I met the new girl."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I forgot to say that I don't own Harry Potter. I do not, in fact, own Harry Potter. _

Five minutes after Sirius left, two girls walked into Angel's compartment.

_Sheesh, what do I have to do to get a little privacy?_ Angel thought. She examined them carefully. One was of average height with pale skin and red hair spilling down her back. Her eyes were also green, but they were the sparkling, emerald kind of green. Angel's eyes were much darker and had much less life.

The one next to her had corkscrew brown curls and a slightly cherubic face with baby blue eyes. Everything about her screamed goody-goody. Angel took an instant dislike to her.

"Um, hello," said the one with the red hair. She stuck out her hand. "My name is Lily and this is Amy," she continued, referring to the girl next to her.

Angel did not shake Lily's hand. After a couple of awkward minutes, Lily withdrew her hand and cleared her throat. "Uh, well, could we sit here? Only we need to escape from Potter and all of the other compartments are full."

Taking Angel's silence as a yes, Lily and Amy hauled their trunks onto the luggage rack. They then sat on the seat across from Angel and started to talk quietly together, ignoring Angel. Angel was fine with this; in fact, she preferred it this way.

For about half the train ride, the compartment was full of Lily and Amy's chatter, broken intermittently with squeals and laughter. Angel continued to watch the passing scenery, listening idly to her iPod. When they were nearing Hogwarts, Lily stood up and said, "Time to get our robes on."

She and Amy left for the bathrooms, leaving Angel to herself. They returned to find Angel staring in morbid horror at her uniform, which was laid out on the seat next to her. Lily and Amy were completely at sea. What was wrong?

Lily was about to voice these opinions when Angel said flatly, "I _refuse_ to wear a skirt." Lily followed her gaze to the pleated gray skirt that they were required to wear underneath their robes.

Lily and Amy exchanged a glance. It read: This girl is like no girl I've ever met. Amy said in a timid voice, "Well, they're not _too_ bad."

Angel gave her a glare that said "Are you nuts?"

Grabbing her uniform, she stalked out of the compartment, Lily and Amy staring after her. When she came back, they both noticed that she was still wearing her jeans underneath her robe. Amy could just imagine McGonagall's expression.

Right when they neared the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Angel let out a cry of despair. "My iPod! Someone help! It's not working! _It's not working!"_

"Calm down!" said Lily. "It's just the magical interference. Hogwarts is full of it. Surely you read _Hogwarts, a History_?"

"No. I didn't," said Angel, in a tone of voice that said _of course I didn't._ She wore the expression of one attending the funeral of a close friend.

"So are you an exchange student?" asked Amy, attempting conversation.

"Yes," said Angel. Lily opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak, Angel said, "Beauxbatons."

Lily and Amy gave her questioning glances. With a sigh, Angel said, "My father is a diplomat for the _Gouvernement Magique_. I came here because… ah… I didn't really fit in there. Plus they thought it would be best for me to change schools."

Lily let out a sudden snort of laughter. She was trying to picture this girl wearing those flouncy, ruffled dresses that they were required to wear at Beauxbatons.

Both Amy and Angel stared at her as though she was mad. "Err—sorry," said Lily. "So what's your name?"

"Angel."

"Cool name. Are you in the sixth year, too?" asked Amy.

"Yeah," said Angel.

"What House are you in?" asked Lily.

"I don't know," replied Angel.

Both girls could feel Angel drawing in on herself, not liking being interrogated. They decided to leave her alone.

They continued for the last few minutes in near silence, the train creaking and rattling beneath them.

When they reached Hogsmeade station, Lily and Amy dragged their trunks off the train, chatting all the while. Angel grabbed her trunk and set off for the nearest carriage, staring around in a bored manner. She had just finished putting her trunk away when Sirius arrived, accompanied by three other boys.

Sirius hadn't seen her sitting in the corner, absorbed with his friends as he was. He yanked open the door and clambered inside, his back to Angel. He turned around and—"Boo," said Angel in a monotone.

"Aaah!" Sirius fell over backwards, squashing James as he attempted to get through the door.

"Hey!" said James. "Watch it!"

Sirius recovered himself. "This is Angel, guys," said Sirius, gesturing with his hand.

"Ah," said James, and he took a subtle step away from her.

Remus came through the carriage door just soon enough for Sirius to give his introduction. Remus seemed relatively unfazed.

"Oh. Hi. I'm Remus, and this is James," he said, gesturing to each of them. "I think you've already met Sirius." The corners of his mouth gave a little twitch.

Angel didn't do anything but sit there.

"Remus, shut the door, would you?" asked James.

Remus complied, and Sirius gave the door a longing look, as though he wanted to get another carriage. However, he simply sat down on the graying carriage seat, as far away from Angel as possible. James and Remus sat themselves next to Sirius, leaving Angel her far corner.

The entire ride up to Hogwarts, James and Sirius told jokes and acted out stories for the amusement of Remus and themselves. The tense atmosphere faded, leaving a comfortable feeling behind.

Suddenly, Hogwarts castle was in view, shining and glistening in all its glory. Angel couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit impressed.

A minute later, all of the students were struggling out onto the sweeping lawns of Hogwarts. Angel was pushed forwards with the crowd, towards the marble front steps, which she ascended, and then through the double-oak front doors. In front of the Great Hall, however, she was stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Angeline Mindelle?" she questioned.

Angel stiffened at the sound of her full name, but nodded all the same.

"Follow me please," she said.

Angel followed McGonagall through a different door, one that was next to the doors of the Great Hall. Inside were a couple of armchairs and a roaring fire. Angel glimpsed a huge room with what appeared to be no ceiling through the door at the other side of the room.

"Ms. Mindelle, when Professor Dumbledore calls your name, you will walk through this door," she pointed to the one that led to the huge room, "and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Is that clear?"

Angel nodded mutely.

"Very well," said McGonagall. With that, she swept out of the room.

Angel sank down onto a squashy armchair and watched through the gap between the door and the wall as the room slowly filled with students.

After what seemed hours, the talking subsided and Dumbledore called everyone to attention.

"Before we begin the Sorting, I would like to introduce a new student that will be joining us this year from Beauxbatons. Ms. Mindelle, if you would come forward please."

Angel pushed open the door and walked over to the three-legged stool that had been set up for her. Every eye was upon her, taking her in, as she placed the ratty hat on her head.

A voice suddenly spoke in her ear. _A Mindelle. Oh, yes, I remember your mother. Quite a nice brain. Now, where to put you? Fairly smart, yes, but not quite… work-oriented enough to be a Ravenclaw. Quite powerful, Slytherin would—_

_ I swear Hat, put me in Slytherin, and you'll be the best deal Glad Rags Wizard Wear has ever gotten._

_ As I was saying, _said the Hat,_ quite loyal to what you believe in. But I feel that you could do better than Hufflepuff. Oh my, very brave. Better be…_

()()()()()()

Sirius watched as Angel took the Hat, face placid as always. Even though Angel had been quite rude, there was still something that fascinated him about her.

He was still thinking about her when the Hat shouted out for the whole hall to hear, "Gryffindor!"


	3. Chapter 3

Angel carefully replaced the hat on the stool and walked calmly down the aisles towards the Gryffindor table. Everyone was watching her. She ignored them.

She settled down into an empty seat between a curly haired girl and a small clump of boys who all looked like they belonged to the Wizard Chess Club. They nodded in greeting or gave her enthusiastic smiles. Angel nodded in return.

Now.

To food.

Even as she watched, the golden platters in front of her filled magically with heaps of steaming food. She eagerly grabbed a chicken leg and scooped a pile of roasted potatos, which was quickly followed by green beans, a roll, a pasta with thick creamy mushroom sauce, salad, roast beef, a portion of assorted fruits (which included mangos, her favorite), shepherd's pie, some sort of fish soup, broccoli, and a muffin. Her fellow classmates watched as though hypnotized as not only did Angel manage to find room for everything on her plate, she ate every last drop.

"What," said Angel thickly, as she struggled through her last bite of muffin.

"You ate that so... _fast_," said a pudgy boy in awe.

Angel stared at him. If he thought THAT was fast, he should have seen the pie-eating contest back in '68.

"That _can't_ be good for you," said the curly haired girl. "Don't you read _Witch Weekly_? Most of that is going straight to your hips!"

Very, very slowly, Angel turned to look at her. Then, she very, very slowly turned up the power of the **AngelOfDeathLook****®.**

"I've also heard that the cheese fondue is quite nice, if you want to try that..." the girl said weakly.

"Thanks," said Angel, turning back to her plate. "Oh, and by the way, I don't read _Witch Weekly_."

"R-really? That's... nice..." she said, but in the tone of voice that suggested that it was as though Big Bird had started a campaign against all things yellow. Apparently, _all _the girls read _Witch Weekly_.

Angel would have replied, but she was distracted by the arrival of dessert. "Excellent," she grinned.

She didn't notice that her classmates were starting to edge away from her.

As she reached for a chocolate cupcake, Angel saw Lily and Amy chattering away a bench down. And further down from them she caught a glimpse of Sirius and James and Remus, roaring with laughter at the far end of the table.

Hmmm, she thought. This year might be fun.

XXXXXXXX

"...And this is our dormitory," finished Lily Evans, proudly presenting a cozy living space with six four poster beds ringed around the outside.

Angel examined it critically. Clothes and other personal belongings had already started to migrate from the girls' trunks, even though they had only been here a couple hours. She didn't particularly mind this though; it gave it an air of home-ness. The great mountains of fluffy comforter and pillow that were their beds looked welcoming and the curtains hung about them were cheerfully decorated in patterns of red and gold. In the center of the room there was an enclosed fire pit which emanated warmth and the walls were decorated with posters and pictures of their favorite bands, friends, and family.

Angel smiled. Lily relaxed, even though she hadn't realized that she'd been tensed up. It was the first real smile Lily had seen all day from Angel.

Personally, Angel thought it was a great change from the elegant but cold living quarters back in Beauxbatons.

Lily started to leave as Angel staked out her new bed and started to unpack. She had given Angel a full tour of the main parts of the castle and Professor McGonagall had given her a schedule. She was all set.

Lily was at the door when Angel spoke.

"Oh, and Lily?" she asked. "Are you _sure_ there isn't a way to fix my iPod?"

XXXXXXX

Angel was lying on her bed and reviewing the day when she heard screams from the Common room downstairs. Grabbing her wand from the bedside table, she rolled smoothly out of bed and raced down the stone spiral staircase. As she descended the stairs, the shrieks became more discernible and she caught the words, "...CAN'T _BELEIVE_ YOU POTTER!" She relaxed a little bit. It was just Potter. For a minute she had been sure...

Even though she was reassured that no one was dying, she continued her way down the steps and out into the Gryffindor family space. She emerged to find Lily shaking something red and extremely lacy under James' nose, screaming at him.

Angel sincerely hoped that it was a red handkerchief, and not what she thought it was, but she doubted it.

James had a slightly struck look on his face. "I swear I didn't know..." he started, but Lily had already turned on her heel and stormed up the girl's staircase.

James then rounded on Sirius and Remus who were standing in a corner shaking with laughter. "That wasn't funny!" he shouted.

"No," said Sirius, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, "you're right. It was hilarious!"

"God," gasped Remus, "you should have seen her expression when you handed it to her. Priceless!"

They both doubled over again, laughing hysterically.

"Well how was I supposed to know?" blustered James. "You said it was chocolate!"

He got no response, however. Looking as though he wanted to tear his hair out, he spun and caught sight of Angel.

She arched an eyebrow. "Want me to help?" she asked.

"That would be brilliant," he said, and stepped back to enjoy the show.

Angel advanced, brandishing her wand, and Remus noticed her. His smile faded slightly. "Bathroom," he muttered to Sirius, and scuttled out of the way.

"Wha...?" panted Sirius, still fighting gales of laughter. "I don't get it. Bathr-AGG"

He gave a little yell as the curse hit him in the midriff. He clasped his hands to his ears as they began to elongate, stretching and flapping.

"AGGG," he yelled again. "What the hell-"

"You look better like that," complimented Angel as she stepped back to enjoy her handy-work. The whole common room now had started to laugh at the sight of Sirius hopping up and down, clutching at his flailing ears.

"Stop that!" he yelled at James, who was now clutching his stomach. "It's not funny! My ears are one of my best attributes-"

"No," said James, "you're right. It's bloody hilarious!"

With that, Sirius tackled James and knocked him a good clear four feet. "THAT'S MY LINE!" he yelled. In the end, James and Sirius stopped fighting and joined in with the laughter. Sirius picked Angel out of the crowd.

"I still haven't forgiven you, you know!" he said. "This means revenge!"

"If you can pull it off!" she countered, and with that she sauntered on up to her new roommates.

_A/N You probably noticed, but I was really hungry when I wrote this. :D So Angel isn't all bad, right?_


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was Angel's first day of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to her schedule, Angel started the day off with Transfiguration, followed by Charms, then Muggle Studies, then Care of Magical Creatures, and then after dinner she had Astronomy. Whopee. She should have been excited, but she really wasn't. The only thing she was really looking forward to so far was that they served bacon with breakfast. And she wasn't nervous, either. She simply... was. It's hard to explain.

She swung out of bed, snatched her clothes and a few other supplies and headed for the bathroom. Everyone else was asleep- it was 7:00 and classes didn't start 'till 9:00. Angel had planned it like this, though. If the girls here were anything like the girls from Beauxbatons, they would take at least half an hour in the bathroom each, and personally, Angel wanted a chance to go pee and brush her teeth and _then_ have a couple minutes before classes started. A strange thing to ask for, I know.

When she came out of the bathroom, she went across the room to get her bag, and as she did so, she glanced at the people she shared a room with. To the left of her bed, there was Amy Cheerfellow, then Lily Evans, and then Amelia Timms. To the right of her bed, there was Karli Hughs, and then Liz Forbs. (Her real name was Eliza, but everyone called her Liz.) The beds formed a circle that was only broken by the door and the bathroom.

She then swung her bag over her shoulder and cast one last look across the room before descending the stairs towards her bacon.

XXXXXXXX

Angel was just polishing off the rest of her French toast and bacon when James came up to her. "Hey," he said. "Thanks for last night! Can you give me that spell?"

Angel turned away. "It's a personal specialty. Trade secret," she said. She was hoping he would go away. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

"Pleeease?" wheedled James. "It was brilliant!"

"Ummm... NO."

James stuck out his lower lip a bit and widened his eyes. This was the face that had kept him from being expelled from Hogwarts.

Angel was just about to tell him to shove off when she had a sudden inspiration. "Tell you what. We'll make a deal, okay? If you can figure out how to make an iPod work inside Hogwarts, I give you the ear spell _and_ throw in an extra spell for free."

Without waiting for his response, she grabbed her bag and started walking towards the double doors.

"Wait!" called James. "What's an iPod?"

But he got no reply.

As he was shaking his head, something about Angel struck him as odd. What was it? Then he realized that she hadn't been wearing the regulation uniform. The required skirt had been replaced with jeans. And then a couple minutes after that, he realized that their next class was with Professor McGonagall. He grinned. This was going to be fun.

XXXXXXX

"...and be very careful at the end. Remember to enunciate _carefully_. And remember to focus on what you want the whole object to turn into, not just the outside." Professor McGonagall finished. Professor McGonagall was a new teacher, relatively young, with dark brown hair usually kept in a bun at the nape of her neck.

She eyed the classroom beadily. "Ms. Mindelle," she said.

Angel looked up from her paper, where she had supposedly been taking notes (she was actually doodling a lovely picture of a flying cucumber) and said, "Yes...?"

"I am aware that Beauxbatons had a highly advanced Transfiguration program. Do you think you could demonstrate how to turn this glass of water into tea?"

Angel slowly stood up. She wasn't particularly worried; sure, Transfiguration wasn't her best subject, but she wasn't bad at it either. "_Liquiisomme_," she said. The glass now held a cup of steaming tea.

"Excellent!" cried Professor McGonagall. "Now, Ms. Mindelle, can you explain why you can change liquids into other liquids but it is quite impossible to change something from a liquid to a solid?"

"Uhhh..." said Angel, stalling. Something to do with atoms, she thought. "Because... it can't change states of matter?"

"Very good!" said Professor McGonagall. "Ten points to Gryffindor!"

Angel was about to sit down again when Professor McGonagall said rather sharply, "Ms. Mindelle! Where is your skirt?"

"I would prefer not to wear a skirt," Angel replied.

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "Well, I am afraid, Ms. Mindelle, that all girls are required to wear a skirt. And you are no exception."

"Why?" asked Angel curiously.

"Because it is part of the school uniform!" Professor McGonagall said. "Part of the _required_ uniform!"

"But _why_ is it part of the uniform?" asked Angel coolly.

"Ms. Mindelle," huffed McGonagall, "I am not in charge of arranging uniforms; I do not know. If you want to know why, I would take up your complaints with the Headmaster."

The class all turned to see Angel's response. They had been following the whole argument as though it was a ping-pong match, their heads turning from side to side.

Angel shrugged. "Okay. I will then."

McGonagall gaped at her. Obviously, she had not been expecting for Angel to actually take her up on it.

"Very well," she said stiffly, indicating that the topic was closed. Then she jerked back to the blackboard and continued the lesson as though the argument had never happened. The rest of Transfiguration was uneventful, unless you count Liz Forbs somehow exploding her cup of water, raining down boiling water and bits of melted plastic from the cup on her classmates.

And there you have Angel's first encounter with Professor McGonagall.

XXXXXXXXX

Angel was finally standing outside of the Headmaster's office, after having to ask two Prefects and a painting how to get there. Right. So now that she was here, how did she get up? Apparently, if you gave the very unalive-looking statue that guarded the entrance the password, it would move aside and allow her to pass on up. The problem was, what was the password? Angel sighed and lent against the wall. This was going to be a long wait.

Actually, she only had to wait about five minutes before Dumbledore turned the corner, humming placidly.

"Ms. Mindelle!" he said delightedly, as though she was just the person he had been looking for.

Angel's eyes widened a fraction, but that was the extent of her reaction.

"Shall we go up to my office? Minerva says you have a couple questions for me."

Taking Angel's silence as a yes, he informed the gargoyle "Cadbury's Finest" and proceeded to climb the now moving spiral staircase that had been hidden behind the statue. "Come along," he said to her cheerfully, as she stood there trying to calculate all the possible meanings of the words "Cadbury's Finest." Surely it couldn't be what she was thinking of. The Headmaster couldn't know her favorite candy, could he? And besides, it was a _Muggle _candy. The odds of Professor Dumbledore knowing what "Cadbury's Finest" was were miniscule.

Angel mechanically walked up the stairs, feeling slightly in shock.

"So," said Dumbledore as he sat behind his desk, "what can I help you with?"

Angel started without preamble. "Professor McGonagall insists that all girls wear the skirt. I disagree."

"Hmmm," said Dumbledore, reviewing the problem. "Well, I am sorry to say that it is true; all students are required to wear the school uniform. So," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "as long as you wear the school skirt, I don't see any problem."

Angel was starting to get angry. What was this, dictatorship? She didn't have to wear something she didn't want to! She was just about to say as much when the Headmaster's last words came to her again. _So, as long as you wear the school skirt, I don't see any problem. _And then it came to her. She didn't smile, but Dumbledore noticed that her eyes were a little less hard than they had been.

"Thanks," said Angel as she rose. "I'll make sure to put on my skirt tomorrow." And then, without being dismissed, she opened his office door and made her way down the stairs.

Dumbledore chuckled.

Back on the lower level, Angel was on her way to lunch, feeling in a much better mood.

After having eaten as much as she felt like eating, Angel scanned the table. She soon found who she was looking for. James, Sirius, and Remus were all sitting together in the middle of the table- the "Marauders". She had heard them called this in the girls' bathroom.

She hurried over to them and interrupted a whispered discussion. She tapped James on the shoulder and was about to ask him something, but stopped when she saw the Marauders' faces. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

Sirius had the guiltiest face of all. It didn't take her long to guess that they had been talking about revenge on her (or, at least, Sirius and possibly Remus might be plotting revenge; James wasn't, since it was him she had helped).

"What?" asked James innocently.

She glared at Sirius. He glared back.

She turned to James again. "I hear you're the Captain of the Quidditch team?"

"Yes, I am," said James, puffing himself up proudly. "And so...?"

"Well, where do I sign up for tryouts?" she asked impatiently.

James raised an eyebrow.

"What?" asked Angel.

"Well..." started Remus tentatively, "Aren't you a bit short?"

"I'm _not_ short." said Angel darkly, as though daring him to say otherwise.

James sighed. "Okay. You sign up on a piece of paper taped outside the Gryffindor changing rooms. Do you know how to get to the pitch?"

Angel nodded.

"Brilliant. Oh, and by the way, what position are you trying out for?" he asked curiously.

"Beater," said Angel.

Sirius choked on his soup.

XXXXXXXX

Angel had already had Transfiguration and Charms (actually she skipped most of Charms in search of the Headmaster's office), so after lunch Angel tagged along with a group of sixth years headed up for Muggle Studies. Surprisingly, Angel was good at Muggle Studies, her classmates found out. (Angel didn't really get why they were surprised. Wasn't she always accepting of new cultures?)

Her classmates included Remus and Amy, though not Lily- she had considered it pointless because she had grown up with Muggles. James and Sirius were taking Divination, mostly because they could sleep in the back of class and the teacher never noticed. Her other classmates were a range of other Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, but not any Syltherins. The only other people she recognized from their small class was Amelia Timms and one of the boys she had sat across from the first night.

Muggle Studies was a blur of the London subway system, so that if they ever needed non-magical transport they would know how to navigate it. Angel pocketed a copy of the map, thinking it might be useful sometime.

After Muggle Studies, Angel went down to Care of Magical Creatures, which was led by Mr. Kettleburn. He seemed to be missing a great deal of fingers and there was a chunk taken out of his ear.

They studied Nixie Sticks, a type of tan-colored lizard, which nobody really knew why they were called Nixie Sticks. They just were.

Unfortunately, the Marauders were in this class and so Angel and Sirius had a glaring contest. This was interrupted by the fact that Nixie Sticks escaped and Angel looked up when someone stepped backwards on her foot in an attempt to escape them. In fact the whole class (as a majority) squealed and back pedaled, including James.

"Ha ha! You blinked!" said Sirius, pointing a finger at Angel.

"Agggh!" said Angel, and started towards him, wand raised, but was blocked by the sudden wave of people.

Sighing, Angel pushed her way to the front of the crowd and helped Professor Kettleburn replace the Nixie Sticks that nobody seemed to want to touch.

The rest of the day went by without anything interesting happening, and by the time Angel was trudging up the girl's staircase at 9:30 after astronomy, she was quite tired.

After throwing on some pajamas, she collapsed into bed, exhausted.

_A/N I don't know if they actually had iPods back then, but we'll just pretend, okay? Oh, and Angel's looking less and less dark, right? I think she's improving!_


End file.
